The 23rd meeting of KAZENERGY Association’s Council was held on November 14 in Astana under the chairmanship of Timur KULIBAYEV. The meeting was attended by the Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan K.Bozumbayev, deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Sh.Utemissov, A.Myradov, B.Izmukhambetov, S.Utebayev, heads of line ministries and administrations, Atameken NCE, the Association’s member companies.
Opening the meeting, the Chairman of the Association Timur KULIBAYEV noted the most significant events of 2018, namely: the enforcement of the new Code “On subsoil and subsoil use” this June, the adoption of the new Law “On standardization”, launch of the auction sales mechanism for RES and commencement of work on the Concept of the new Environmental Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
He pointed out that KAZENERGY is one of the key participants of the legislation renewal process where in a partner and constructive dialogue with the relevant state authorities it puts out considerable effort to provide expert support for this work and to protect the interests of companies in the field.
According to T. Kulibayev, the process of modernization of all the most crucial branches of law (subsoil use, taxation, technical regulation, environmental protection) in Kazakhstan will be completed with the new Environmental Code, the adoption of which is expected in 2020. New legislation which affects directly the operation of the energy sector will form an attractive investment climate in the country.
The Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanat BOZUMBAYEV emphasized that with the adoption of the Code on subsoil and subsoil use, investors will become more active in this area, and the optimization of the tax burden has allowed to revitalize geological exploration in the Kazakhstan sector of the Caspian Sea.
Also the Minister focused on the tasks of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the next year that will be resolved with involvement of experts from Atameken NCE, KAZENERGY Association, business environment and public representatives.
In conclusion, Mr. Bozumbayev noted the significant contribution of the Association in improvement of environmental legislation. “The Association’s activities aimed at the development and introduction of green and resource saving technologies, creation of conditions for the sustainable development of Kazakhstan’s economy in the long-term will allow to resolve many environmental problems”, - he pointed out.
The Director General Asset MAGAUOV reported on the work of KAZENERGY in the current year, he noted that last year the Association worked on 11 key directions. They include: taxation and tariffs, subsoil use, turnovers of petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas, power generation sector, environment, local content development, technical regulation, human capital development, international activities and analytics. Mr. Magauov told about the significant results achieved in each direction.
Speaking about the plans for the next year, the Director General of KAZENERGY particularly noted the preparation of the Comment to the new Subsoil Code, changes in the legislation on petroleum products market, the work on the problems of environmental legislation, and the preparation of the National Energy Report in 2019, the main topics of which will cover: the global oil market and the role of Kazakhstan, “OPEC+” agreements, forecasts of changes in the market and oil prices; integration of markets in the EEU.
Also, the report of Nurlan DZHANEKENOV, Managing Director – Director of DFEA, “On approval of the Budget of KAZENERGY Association for 2019” was presented during the meeting and was unanimously approved by the participants.
The Executive Director Talgat KARASHEV reported on the Association’s activities in the international field. He noted that the preparation of the XII KAZENERGY Eurasian Forum, which will be held in a new format in 2019, has been started. KAZAKHSTAN ENERGY WEEK 2019 will include two parallel clusters: the XII KAZENERGY Eurasian Forum and the Interactive Exhibition.
Mr. Karashev also said that KAZENERGY initiated the filing of an application to hold the XXIV World Petroleum Congress in 2023 in Astana. “Kazakhstan has a number of advantages for filing this application,” - he said, “We take an active part in the work of the WPC. We have experience of holding large international events. The capital city has a developed network of communications and infrastructure - the “legacy of EXPO”; the logistics of the main facilities for the Congress is well-organized. It is important that major transnational oil and gas corporations - residents of the WPC member countries - successfully develop their projects in Kazakhstan”.
Kenzhebek IBRASHEV, Principal of the Kazakh-British Technical University, presented another initiative to create a “Unified Center of Knowledge and Competences for the Oil and Gas Industry of Kazakhstan” on the basis of the Kazakh-British Technical University.
Viktor KOVALENKO, Regional Director of Cleantech and Sustainability Services in Central Asia, Caucasus, Ukraine and Belarus at “Ernst & Young” Kazakhstan, presented the study of environmental legislation practices applied in OECD countries, Russia and Brazil.
The ceremony of awarding the representatives of companies as well as the admission of new members to KAZENERGY Association took place in the end of the Council’s meeting.
